Automatic embossing machine



May 11 192a. 1,584,163

R. F. BERNDT ET AL AUTOMATI C EMBOS S ING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 1.1920 Sheets-Sheet 1 mmmmmmmi mwzmons 'P/CHHRD F. BEE/V07 13 "I PHIL/PCOLL/SCHONN JE.

" ATTORNEY May 11 1926. 1,584,163

R. F. BERNDT ET AL wromnc EMBOSSING mam pri ma Filed Dec. 1, 1920 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. R/CHflED f: BERNDT PHIL/P Cm/sc/voA/NJA?ATTORNEY May 11 1926.

R. F. BERNDT ET AL AUTOMATIC EMBOSSING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 1,1920 4 Sheets-Sheet s 1,584,163 R. F. BERNDT ET AL AUTOMATIC EMBOSSINGMACHINE Original Filed Dec. 1, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY PatentedMay 11, 1926. j r 1,584,163

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD F. BERNDT AND PHILIP COLLISCHON N JR, OF SAN FRANCISCO,CALIFORNIA, ASSIG'NORS TO AUTOMATIC PRINTING DEVICES COMPANY, OF SANFRANCISCO,

CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF CALIFORNIA.

AUTOMATIC EMBOSSING MACHINE.

Application filed December 1,1920, Serial No. 427,548. Renewed July 21,1924.

This invention relates to process em- Fig. 7 shows a plan view of aportion of bossing or engraving by which is meant the the feedingdeviceand gripping device. 55 production of raised letter efl'ects wlthout F1g. 8 shows a vertical, sectional view the use of steel dies or copperplates. taken through thepowder receptacle and il- Process engraving orembossing as herein lustratlng the powder scoop "in one positionreferred to is carried on in the following of its movement. way: Theprinted sheet as it comes from Figs. 9' and 10 show a similar viewillusco the press freshly printed is sprinkled with tratlng differentposltlons of the powder a powder or compound which adheres and scoop andts actuating means. D

10 combines with the ink, surplus powder is The machine in the formherein illusremoved by shaking or tapping the sheet, trated comprises amain frame which inand thereafter the sheet is placed near a cludes abase 9 and a superstructure 10. A 05 heater to dry, thereby causing theink and motor 11 is arranged near the base of the powder to combine andcement together, machlne and connects by a belt 12 with a producingeither engraved or embossed efpulley 13 ournalled on the superstructure.fects depending upon the particular powder This pulley 13 has its hub orshaft connectused. Ordinarily this process is carrled ed by a sprocketchain 14 to a sprocket wheel on entirely by hand and the object of the15'fixed upon a drive shaft 16 extending enpresent invention is toaccomplish these optlrely across the superstructure. The shafterationsby mechanical means. j 16 carries driving sprocket wheels 17 oneIn carrying out this object we prov1de a near each end over whichendless conveyor machine, preferably power operated, wherechains 18operate. From the drive wheels by the sheets are automatically carriedone 17 each conveyor chain passes downwardly at a time by grippersthrough a receptacle and beneathan idler wheel 19 andthence providedwith an automatically operated forwardly to guide wheels 20 at the frontof scoopwhich deposits the powder lightly and the mach1ne. Thereafterthe course of the evenly over the printed surface. The gripconveyorchains is rearwardly beneath the pers are carried by a conveyor over aseries curved guide rails 21 and thence upwardly of lugsor projectionswhich impart thereto an appreclable distance to a guide roller 22 30 avibratory movement such as to cause the at the top of the superstructurefrom which surplus powder to be shaken off. When point the chains extendhorizontally to 'a tlie grippers'reach the end of their run they roller23 at the rear of the superstructure automatically release the sheet andthe latand thence back to the driving wheels 17. ter is switched on to adelivery conveyor At suitably spaced intervals on the con- 35 whichcarries the sheet slowly beneath a veyor chains we arrange a grippingmechaheater and deposits the same in a finished nism, best shown inFigs. 4, 5 and 6. Each state wherever desired. gripping device includesacross-web 24 ex- One form which our invention may assume tending.between opposite chains and fixed to is exemplified in the followingdescription the links thereof, said cross-web constitut- 40 andillustrated in the accompanying drawing a lower gripping jaw. A secondjaw 25 ings in which v j is hinged upon the lower jaw by means of a Fig.1 shows a side elevation of a machine pin 26 and normally held inengagement embodying our invention, with the lower jaw by springs 27 Anex- Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the same, tension or lug 28 on thehinged end of the 46 Fig. 3 shows a central, vertical, sectional movablejaw is adapted to ride upon a cam view of the upper portion of themachine, track 29 at the front of the machine to'cause Fig, 4. shows aplan view of one of the the jaws to be openedto receive a printedgripping devices, sheet from a feeding device.

Fig; 5 shows a vertical, central, sectional This feeding devicecomprises'a fixed inview of the feeding mechanism and a gripclined'ledge 30 having a movable shelf-plate ping device adjacent thereto, 31at its lower end and normally held'by Fig. 6 shows a sectional view of agripspring means in position to support a sheet ping device in closedposition. of paper, A swinging rod 32 is pivotally connected to the rearside of the ledge 30 and has a crank arm to co-act with the movableshelf-plate. This rod has its opposite end disposed so as to be actedupon by the gripping device asthe lattertravels beneath the feedingmechanism, The action of the gripping device will be to raise the co-acting end of the swinging arm and thereby cause the shelf-plate to beretracted, whereupon the sheet of paper falls into place betweenthegripping jaws, it being understood that the cam track 29 is sopositioned as to cause the, jaws to be open at his time. In order toposition the printed sheet properly within the jaws we arrange a row ofpins 33 thereon which limit the depth of entry of the sheet within thejaws.

The conveyor chains 18 carry the gripping device past the cam track 29thereby allowing the jaws to close upon the sheet. The path of thegripping jaws is now beneath the curved guides 21 which overlie areceptacle 34 in which embossing or engraving powder is contained. Toinsure a deposit of powder upon the printed sheet we provide a scoop 35carried on a shaft 36 journalledbetween supports 37 arranged at opposltesldes of the frame. To operate this shaft and scoop in timed relationwith the travel of the gripper jaws beneath we provlde the mechanismshown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 consisting of a striker arm 38 on one end ofthe shaft 36, with which arm a lug or projection 39 on one of theconveyor chains co-acts. This lug is some distance in advance of thegripper jaws and causes the striker arm to be carried from the positionshown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9 during which movement the scooppicks up a quantity of powder from the receptacle. Thereafter thegripper jaws contact with the striker arm and rock it far enough tocause the scoop to be overturned, as shown in Fig. 10. The powderfalling from the scoop will strike the printed sheet carried by thegripper jaws.

Having passed beneath the scoop and having been supplied with powder thesheet remains in the gripper jaws and is carried up the vertical run ofthe conveyor chains, the

gripper jaws coming in contact at this time with a series of lugs or proections 40 which cause vibration of the jaws whereby to shake off thesurplus powder. At this time the sheet is held substantially in avertical plane.

Arriving at the top of the superstructure the sheet is carried over ahorizontal course by the gripper jaws, and in this connection we arrangea frictionally. driven conveyor 41 over the intermediate portion rollers22 and 23, the rollers throughout the area occupied by the conveyor 41being of less diameter than the end portions which carry the chains 18.This conveyor is here shown as being made up of-a series of endless coilsprings or tapes but may be otherwise constructed. The slippageoccurring in the drive of this conveyor 41 and the smaller diameter ofthat portion of the rollers over which it operates results in a somewhatslower speed on the average than that of the chain conveyors 18. It isthe purpose of the conveyor 41 to support the trailing end of theprinted sheet.

Near the end of the horizontal run of the conveyor chains 18 theextension 28 on the movable gripper jaw strikes a cam 48 cansing the jawto open, and inasmuch as the trailing end of the sheet is at this timein contact with the conveyor 41 the slower speed of the latter willcause the sheet to be withdrawn from the open jaws.

Provision must be made for allowing the gripper jaws to pass downwardlyon their return circuit, whereas the sheets must be shunted on to adelivery conveyor which latter comprises an extension frame 43 hinged tothe top. of the main frame and supported in extended position by rods44. An idler roller 45 is journalled in the extension frame towards theouter end thereof, and a drive roller 46 is journalled at the inner endof the extension frame. Over these rollers we arrange a series ofendless coil springs or tapes 4'? constituting conveyors and being of aconstruction such'as to withstand heat. The drive roller 46 is operatedby a pulley 48 connected by a belt 49 with a pulley 50 on the driveshaft 16.

To accomplish the transfer of the printed sheet from the frictionallydriven conveyor 41 to the delivery conveyor we arrange a bridgingconveyor in the space between the rollers 46 and 23. This bridgingconveyor comprises endless tapes or bands 51 operating over the roller46 at one end and over a roller 52 at the opposite end, said roller 52being journalled in swinging arms 53 pivotally mounted upon the spindles.of the roller 46. The arms 53 are normally held by springs in positionwhere their upper ends will lie close to the roller 23, and a bar 54 isconnected to one of the said swinging arms 53 and extends upwardly andforwardly terminating in a cam shaped end 55 which is in a position toco-act with the gripper jaws. When the gripper jaws meet said cam shapedend they cause the swinging arms 53 to be lifted away from the roller23, thus making room for the gripper jaws to pass between. Theseswinging arms are immediately returned by spring action so as, tointercept the released sheet and carry it over on to the deliveryconveyor.

The delivery conveyor is provided with a heating element 56, preferablyelectrical. which is supported on standards 57 fixed to the extensionframe 43. The delivery conveyor is comparatively slow moving and printedand powdered sheets are carried thereby beneath the heating element andthe ink and powder and thereby dried and cemented together. Thereafterthe sheets are delivered by the conveyor into stacks at the desiredplace, by means of a supplemental deli-very conveyor '58.

The present machine may be lined up to a press so that the pressmanfeeds the printed sheets .directly from the press into the feedingmechanism of the machine. At a speed equal to that of any printing pressthe gripper jaws receive each sheet individually from the feedingdevice. 'JIhereafter the sheet is powdered and-dusted thoroughly and thecompound is cemented with the ink un der a heater. The sheets need notbe touched by hand from the time they are placed on the feed platformuntil they are picked up in a stack at the endot the process.

The present machine eliminates hand powdering and tapping off of thesurplus powder and thereby effects an enormous saving of labor and time.Its high speed of production obviates all delays and inconveniences andmakes it unnecessary to hold up the press. The manner in which thepowder or compound is applied eliminates waste and since the printedsheets need not be touched by hand thestock is kept clean, thus insuringa neat ob.

Various changes in the construction and arrangement of the several partsherein shown and described may be employed without departing from thespirit of our invention as disclosed in :the appended claims.

The manner in which we connect the bar 241- to the links of the chain 18'is simple and substantial and consists in providing at each end of thebar 24: a connecting piece 24L having projections 24 extending throughopen ings in the side bar f the link and riveted therein, as shown inFig. 4. The part 249 is fastened to the bar 24 by bolts or other-,

wise.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secureby Let ters Patent is 1. In a device for producing process em bossingand engraving comprising means to grip a printed sheet, means to depositpowder thereon, said gripping means being movable to bring the sheetinto a substantially vertical plane, and means to vibrate the gripperwhereby to shake surplus powder oil the sheet.

2. In a device for producing process embossing and engraving comprisingmeans to grip a printed sheet, means for feeding sheets to the grippingmeans one at a time, means for depositing powder on the sheet while thelatter is retained by the gripper, means to move the gripper into aposition where the sheet will occupy a substantially vertical plane, andmeans for agitating the gripper whereby to remove. surplus powder.

3. In a device for producing process emibossing and engraving comprising.a conveyor, a gripping device arranged thereon, means to teed printedsheets one at a time to the gripping device, a powder retaining devicepast which the gripping device is moved, means actuated in timedrelation with the gripping device to deposit the powder upon theretained sheet and means for imparting vibratory movement to the gripper whereby to shake oli" surplus powder.

4. In a device for producing process embossing and engraving'comprisinga. conveyor, a gripping device arranged .thereon, means :to feed printedsheets one at a time to the gripping device, a powder retaining devicepast which the gripping device is moved, means actuated in timedrelation with the gripping device to deposit the powder upon theretained sheet, means for imparting vibratory movement to the gripperwhereby to shake off surplus powder, means for releasing the sheet fromthe gripping device' and a delivery conveyor cooperating with thegripping device to receive the released sheet.

In a device for producing process embossing and engraving comprising acon veyor, a gripping device arranged thereon, means to feed printedsheets one at a time to the gripping device, a powder retaining devicepast which the gripping device is moved, means actuated in timedrelation with the gripping device to deposit the powder upon theretained sheet, means for im parting vibratory movement to the gripperwhereby to shake oif surplus powder, means for releasing the sheet fromthe gripping device, a delivery conveyor cooperating with the grippingdevice to receive the released sheet and ;a heater overlying thedelivery conveyor. a

6. In a machine of the character described a powder receptacle, arotatable scoop adapted to remove powder from said receptacle anddeposit powder on a printed sheet, a conveyor movable past said powderdepositing means and means on the conveyor for receiving and retainingthe printed sheet.

7. In a machine of the character described a rotatable scoop fordepositing powder on. a printed sheet, a conveyor movable past saidpowder depositing means, means on the conveyor for receiving andretaining the printed sheet and means carried by the conveyor foractuating said powder depositing means at the time when the printedsheet is in position to receive the powder.

8. In a machine of the character described powder depositing means, aconveyor movable past said powder depositing means, means on theconveyor for receiving and retaining the printed sheet, means carried bythe conveyor for actuating said powder depositing means at the time whenthe printed sheet is in position to receive the powder and means overwhich the conveyor moves to impart a vibratory motion thereto for thepurpose of removing surplus powder from the sheet.

91 In a machine of the character described a powder receptacle, a rotaryscoop operat ing thereon, a carrier movable between the and retain aprinted sheet, and means to ap-.

ply powder thereto and means cooperating with the sheet retaining meansto impart vibratory movement thereto.

11. In a machine of the character described an endless carrier having aportion of its run substantially vertical, means on the carrier toreceive and retain a printed and powdered sheet and a series of lugs orprojections arranged on the vertical run of said carrier to impartvibratory movements to the sheet retaining means.

12. In a machine of the character described an endless carrier, a pairof gripping jaws thereon to receive and retain a printed sheet, means toapply powder to the printed sheet, a delivery conveyor arranged at oneend of the carrier,means to cause the gripping jaws to release the sheetnear the end of the run of the carrier, means to transfer the sheet fromthe gripping jaws to the de livery conveyor, said transfer meansincluding a pivotally mounted conveyor arranged between the carrier anddelivery conveyor.

and normally bridging the space between and means actuated by the sheetretaining means to'shift said pivotally mounted conveyor and allow thesheet retaining means to pass thereunder, and means to cause thepivotally mounted conveyor to be retracted in time, to intercept thepreviously released sheet.

13. In a machine of the character described, a conveyer, asheet-gripping device carried thereby, a powder-containing receptacleover which the conveyer moves, a rotatable scoop arranged over thepowder-com taining receptacle for removing powder from the container anddepositing it upon the sheetand means carried by the conveyer foractuating said rotatable scoop.

14. In a'machine of the character described, a tiltable container forpowder, means for conducting a printed sheet past the container, andmeans set into operation by the movement of the sheet conducting meansfor tilting the container.

15. In a machine of the character described a powder receptacle, arotatable powder scoop adapted to remove powder from said receptacle,and means for conducting a printed sheet beneath the scoop.

16. In a.machine of the character described, a rotatable powder scoop,means for conducting a printed sheet beneath the scoop and means setinto operation by the move ment of the sheet conducting means forrotating the scoop.

17 In a machine of the class described, a powdering mechanism,comprising a scoop movable to pick up powder and to dump it,

means for revolving the scoop so that it performs these functions insuccession during a revolution and means for carrying a sheet to betreated along with the scoop.

RICHARD F. BERNDT. PHILIP COLLISCHONN, JR.

